:00:15. > :00:23.Welcome to the late Look North. The headlines tonight -
:00:24. > :00:31.The phone went, and they said it was a flood warning, there may be
:00:32. > :00:33.flooding in your area. I was waist deep in water at the time.
:00:34. > :00:36.of high-street shopping leave the
:00:37. > :00:48.That is too much retail space, and the sooner that they can find better
:00:49. > :00:50.use of that space will help Hull is a location. And join me later for
:00:51. > :00:54.the weather forecast. People hit by flooding on the east
:00:55. > :00:56.coast earlier this year have called the Environment Agency's
:00:57. > :01:00.early warning system a "joke". A new report about Hornsea
:01:01. > :01:05.and Withernsea, where a number of homes and businesses
:01:06. > :01:08.were flooded as huge waves breached the sea walls,
:01:09. > :01:12.says sea defences and warning systems should be reviewed to avoid
:01:13. > :01:17.a repeat of January's tidal surge. Here's our Environment
:01:18. > :01:21.Correspondent, Paul Murphy. This is my kitchen,
:01:22. > :01:26.as it is at the moment. Kathy Webb's home is still being
:01:27. > :01:29.repaired and she will not be She lives just yards
:01:30. > :01:34.from Hornsea seafront. This was the worst-affected area
:01:35. > :01:38.of January's tidal surge. Ten properties were flooded,
:01:39. > :01:41.and tens of thousands of pounds of On that night, Kathy
:01:42. > :01:47.was rescuing her pet rabbits from flood water
:01:48. > :01:49.when the phone rang. I was actually trying
:01:50. > :01:52.to climb into the I held it up and it said,
:01:53. > :01:59."This is a flood warning, "there may be flooding
:02:00. > :02:02.in your area". I was waist-deep
:02:03. > :02:04.in water at the time. Today's report by East Riding
:02:05. > :02:08.Council paints a picture It recommends improvements to sea
:02:09. > :02:14.defences and flood drainage Better sandbag storage
:02:15. > :02:20.and provision in Hornsea, that some properties in Hornsea
:02:21. > :02:24.consider better flood protection. And that the Environment Agency
:02:25. > :02:29.improves its flood warning system. The Environment Agency did not wish
:02:30. > :02:32.to be interviewed about why Hornsea did not receive a specific alert
:02:33. > :02:38.until it was too late, but in a statement, they said that part
:02:39. > :02:41.of the reason was that strong winds predicted for that night by the Met
:02:42. > :02:47.office arrived much earlier than had The Environment Agency are in
:02:48. > :02:52.a difficult situation because they have a limited amount
:02:53. > :02:55.of time in which to warn people about these events,
:02:56. > :03:00.and often they may know a day or two days before that there is a chance
:03:01. > :03:03.there will be a big storm surge event, but they have to be
:03:04. > :03:07.careful not to cry wolf. There's little doubt, though,
:03:08. > :03:10.that an early warning would have helped this seaside
:03:11. > :03:12.business, which is only just If we'd have had sufficient warning,
:03:13. > :03:16.I do think we could have We could have moved machines.
:03:17. > :03:23.We could have fortified a lot more. It would have allowed us to have
:03:24. > :03:27.some resources directly in the affected areas straight
:03:28. > :03:30.away, and we could have But the size of the
:03:31. > :03:35.surge and the waves meant that the flooding was bound
:03:36. > :03:38.to happen one way or another. Many experts believe that tidal
:03:39. > :03:43.surges are no longer freak events, that they will become more frequent
:03:44. > :03:46.and more powerful. Today's report makes it clear that
:03:47. > :03:50.Hornsea and towns like it will need to be better prepared
:03:51. > :03:53.if they are to cope. Smoking could be banned
:03:54. > :04:00.in children's play areas in Hull. The city council is
:04:01. > :04:03.considering the plans as part of a review of the management
:04:04. > :04:06.of open spaces. The changes could mean
:04:07. > :04:09.a voluntary code of conduct for smokers or the creation
:04:10. > :04:13.of tough enforcement measures. It's particularly
:04:14. > :04:17.bad if children are If they are directly exposed
:04:18. > :04:21.to smoke, that is bad for their health, but if they
:04:22. > :04:24.are exposed to the idea that it is socially
:04:25. > :04:26.acceptable, then they are more if they see adults doing
:04:27. > :04:31.it on a regular basis. A man has been charged with five
:04:32. > :04:34.offences of robbery and aggravated The charges are in connection
:04:35. > :04:40.with a series of incidents last month in the Portland Terrace
:04:41. > :04:43.and Ropery Road areas of Gainsborough and on
:04:44. > :04:46.South Street in Morton. 36-year-old Clinton
:04:47. > :04:49.Sentance is also charged Plans to upgrade the Birchwood
:04:50. > :04:55.Leisure Centre in Lincoln have been approved despite strong opposition
:04:56. > :04:59.from the community. The City of Lincoln Council wants
:05:00. > :05:03.to spend more than ?1 million Campaigners are upset it'll mean
:05:04. > :05:08.the loss of some sports groups The council says it's working
:05:09. > :05:15.to find alternatives. The manager of one of Hull's main
:05:16. > :05:19.shopping centres says the two major national brands which are pulling
:05:20. > :05:24.out will quickly be replaced. Clothing giants Zara
:05:25. > :05:29.and Dorothy Perkins have both confirmed they will not be
:05:30. > :05:32.renewing their leases That's prompted concern amongst
:05:33. > :05:37.shoppers and other retailers. Our Business Correspondent,
:05:38. > :05:43.Leanne Brown, has more. When it opened ten years ago,
:05:44. > :05:47.it was seen as a major boost to Hull's retail offering,
:05:48. > :05:49.but now two leading because there are some good
:05:50. > :05:58.shops in St Stephen's, but as long as they replace them
:05:59. > :06:00.with something decent, Well, it's a shame, really,
:06:01. > :06:04.because they are so convenient and they have everything
:06:05. > :06:07.you need, virtually. I just think that instead
:06:08. > :06:09.of in the department stores, having lots of them,
:06:10. > :06:11.they could open the shops. I think generally we have got
:06:12. > :06:14.some quite good stores, but I feel like if we don't maintain
:06:15. > :06:17.the quality then people are just going to go to places like Leeds
:06:18. > :06:20.and we are just going to lose out on the money
:06:21. > :06:23.that we need for the town. But the manager of the shopping
:06:24. > :06:25.centre isn't worried. The retail world changes in ten
:06:26. > :06:29.years, and some brands come and go. Dorothy Perkins, that is
:06:30. > :06:31.going to be two units. We have got two tenants we think
:06:32. > :06:34.we'll take that one, and we feel we have got a major
:06:35. > :06:37.new tenant for Zara, so there will be progressive changes
:06:38. > :06:41.at St Stephen's over the six, Sports Direct is also
:06:42. > :06:47.relocating, and, although Zara and Dorothy Perkins haven't given
:06:48. > :06:51.specific reasons for leaving, some shop managers I've spoken
:06:52. > :06:54.to say rent is particularly high. But visitor numbers are good,
:06:55. > :06:58.with around 12 million people And smaller retailers
:06:59. > :07:04.in the surrounding city centre streets are hoping those numbers
:07:05. > :07:07.will be maintained, as the big stores do help to drive
:07:08. > :07:10.the local economy. Yeah, we do need them, because once
:07:11. > :07:14.properties are occupied, people come into the city centre,
:07:15. > :07:18.and obviously we need a footfall of people going past our
:07:19. > :07:21.shops to see us and come Fashion in particular
:07:22. > :07:25.is a business with a shelf life, one that's come to an end
:07:26. > :07:28.for two shops in Hull. We will find out which stores
:07:29. > :07:31.will be restocking the I've been talking to retail
:07:32. > :07:40.consultant, Andrew McVicker, and asked him what this decision
:07:41. > :07:46.says about Hull. I think it tells us that Hull
:07:47. > :07:49.is suffering the same sort of pressures that a number of retail
:07:50. > :07:51.locations Some people are saying
:07:52. > :07:59.they are asking too much rent. Is it that, or is it that people
:08:00. > :08:03.in Hull have not got enough money to spend to satisfy
:08:04. > :08:05.these retail giants? I think it is a combination
:08:06. > :08:08.of factors, which ultimately means that Zara,
:08:09. > :08:10.with its current business model, will struggle to make the level
:08:11. > :08:12.of return in a place like Hull
:08:13. > :08:15.that they are looking for. You said today that the city has got
:08:16. > :08:18.to reposition itself to make itself more attractive.
:08:19. > :08:22.What do you mean by that? I think it has got to
:08:23. > :08:25.consolidate its retail offer. There is too much retail
:08:26. > :08:27.space in a number of locations across the UK,
:08:28. > :08:29.and the sooner it can find better uses of that space,
:08:30. > :08:34.be it food and beverages, leisure, or outlets
:08:35. > :08:37.for retail and, I think that will Why does Hull struggle
:08:38. > :08:47.to attract brand names? cafe, no branches in Hull,
:08:48. > :08:50.half a dozen in Leeds. Pret is highly reliant
:08:51. > :08:53.on the number of office workers within a location,
:08:54. > :09:02.and somewhere like Leeds, with its strong financial services, clearly
:09:03. > :09:04.has those numbers of office workers, which Hull which
:09:05. > :09:06.struggles to provide. So how hard is going be for Hull
:09:07. > :09:11.to attract retailers of a similar prestige to
:09:12. > :09:13.what they are about to lose in June and July,
:09:14. > :09:16.or is it likely something
:09:17. > :09:19.of a much lesser quality? Think it is well going to be
:09:20. > :09:29.a challenge, but Hull remains a There is no reason that the right
:09:30. > :09:34.format under the right offer cannot succeed in Hull in the future. Do
:09:35. > :09:41.you think we will lose other big names like Topshop? I think that
:09:42. > :09:47.Topshop are experiencing some pleasures at the moment, but Hull
:09:48. > :09:50.remains an attractive place for a number of retailers.
:09:51. > :09:53.In football, Lincoln City were given a guard of honour onto the pitch at
:09:54. > :09:56.Maidstone tonight, after earning a place in League Two next season.
:09:57. > :09:58.The game itself was not one for the history books.
:09:59. > :10:05.Time now to have a look at the weather.
:10:06. > :10:09.We have had all sorts of weather today, and this photo
:10:10. > :10:11.sent in by one of our Weather Watchers, depicts
:10:12. > :10:14.For tomorrow, much more of the same to come,
:10:15. > :10:17.and similar through this evening and overnight as well.
:10:18. > :10:18.Very heavy showers spreading down from the
:10:19. > :10:21.north, really starting to confine themselves, though, to the east
:10:22. > :10:24.A bit further inland will see a largely dry picture.
:10:25. > :10:27.We could even see a few clearer spells , where
:10:28. > :10:29.temperatures will drop low enough for it to frost.
:10:30. > :10:31.Maybe even some ice on untreated surfaces in the far
:10:32. > :10:35.So, we will start the day tomorrow on a very
:10:36. > :10:36.cold note, some very heavy, potentially wintry, showers,
:10:37. > :10:40.maybe some hail and some thunder mixed in there as well, but through
:10:41. > :10:43.the course of the day, they should start to ease, and I think chould
:10:44. > :10:45.to ease, and I think could
:10:46. > :10:50.Temperatures tomorrow, up at about 9 Celsius, 48 in Fahrenheit.
:10:51. > :11:13.Good evening. Another cold night lies ahead after what was a chilly
:11:14. > :11:14.day for swathes of